The journey of the Bid book started from the Matúš Čák Tower at Trenčín Castle and was carried down by the climber Jaroslav Dutka, a member of the HoryZonty film festival crew. Dutka handed over the Bid book to dancers from the University folklore ensemble Družba (the costumes were lent by the Vršatec Folklore Ensemble). People from the cultural community and non-profit organizations, employees of the city of Trenčín, the Trenčín Self-Governing Region and the town of Trenčianske Teplice came to the castle area to escort the Bid book.

The Mayor of Trenčín Richard Rybníček, the President of the Trenčín Self-Governing Region Jaroslav Baška, the Mayor of Trenčianske Teplice Zuzana Frajková Ďurmeková and the Rector of the University of Trenčín Jozef Habánik a good luck to the Bid book. They all agreed that the cooperation of the whole Trenčín region, even the Euroregion in cooperation with the Zlín Region, was and will be important in the preparation of this project and its implementation.

Accompanied by the mayor, they carried the Bid book through the town to the train station. In the square they were joined by children from the Medňanský Kindergarten and pupils from the Veľkomoravská Primary School. Their team took it by train to Bratislava and in the afternoon, together with the Mayor, they handed it over to the Ministry of Culture.

The original plan was different. DIVO občasné združenie o.z. invented and volunteered to organize a relay on environmentally friendly means of transport from Trenčín to Bratislava. They had runners, skaters, cyclists signed up. There were people who had to carry it on foot, others to carry it by train. However, bad weather disrupted these plans and the relay was not realized. However, special thanks are owed to everyone at DIVO for their enthusiasm and energy.

The Trenčín organisations were also given the opportunity to participate in the relay symbolically - by delivering their logo or symbol on a cloth. These were used to create a bag in which the Bid book was transported to Bratislava.

At the Castle, Lucia Dubačová particularly highlighted the involvement of hundreds of individuals and organisations, without whom the Bid Book would not have come into being. "Thank you for your help, thank you for your support and thank you for your criticism. We recognise a big progress since the Bid book in the first round, we perceive both successes and mistakes, which we are learning from. We appreciate you keeping your fingers crossed for Trenčín".

The Bid book is a 100-page book containing the programme of Trenčín as European Capital of Culture. It covers not only the year in which Trenčín would be the title holder - i.e. 2026 - but also the preparation period from 2021 to 2025. The programme must stand on firm ground and be sustainable and feasible. Therefore, the Bid book also includes budgets, project management, plans and solutions for the renovation and reconstruction of buildings and public spaces, European cooperation, the involvement of organisations and residents, the creation of accommodation facilities, media coverage towards the citizens, Slovakia but also the whole of Europe.

They have handed over 20 copies of the book to the Ministry and they are intended for the Ministry and for the expert committee that evaluates the projects.

In English, in Slovak and also easy to read versions

The entire Bid book is in English for the time being. However, by the end of November they have to submit the Bid book in Slovak as well. Both versions will then be freely available on our website.

However, the Bid book also has an 'easy to read' version aimed at marginalised and disadvantaged groups. The 23-page easy to read version contains large print and pictograms. Thanks to this, the content of the project can be accessible to everyone. They created it together with the Polish Impact Foundation. The English version of the easy-to-read Bid book is available on their web, the Slovak version is coming up soon.

Creative design right from the cover

Bid books have different forms of covers. The covers differ in colour - the six colours of the covers symbolise the six objectives of the candidacy:

· Nature matters

· City matters

· People matter

· Culture matters

· Community matters

· Europe matters

At the same time, the envelopes depict rubber bands moulded into different shapes. This is a shift from the Bid book in the first round, where the shaped coloured rubber band as a symbol of the search for the identity of the city of Trenčín was designed by graphic designer Martin Pyšný, a member of theirteam.

"Now we have given the rubber band in the hands of the people of Trenčín and let them shape it and with it the identity of our city," explains Lucia Dubačová, manager of the Trenčín 2026 project. On the envelopes we can find shapes created by all age groups, from children to seniors. The graphic design was done by Martin Pyšný. Dubačová adds: "Although it may seem like an odd thing to do, mirroring the philosophy of the candidacy in the design of the book is a common practice for candidate cities. We have taken inspiration from past and future European Capitals of Culture."